He says: "What hardens Apple's resolve is designing, making, and selling large numbers of personal computers, from the traditional desktop/laptop Mac, to the genre-validating iPad, and on to the iPhone— the Very Personal Computer.

"Everything else is an ingredient, a booster, a means to the noblest end."

"The company's monomania, its collective passion is undeniable. More than any other company, Apple has made computers personal, machines we can lift with our hands and our credit cards."

Gassée doesn't actually believe Apple will ever make TV sets. He does believe Apple's current TV solution, the "black puck" called Apple TV, will go on.

But it, he says, is like Apple software: "it makes iPhones, iPads, Macs and our iTunes libraries more valuable, but it's still just a member of the supporting cast."